Picked up to series a year and a half ago under then-Freeform president Tom Ascheim, Cruel Summer is from Entertainment One and Jessica Biel’s Iron Ocean banner, with the company’s Michelle Purple exec producing alongside Biel, series creator Bert V.
Jessica, Michelle, and Tia did a phenomenal job telling an addictive story that’s tapped into the cultural zeitgeist.
The series was the most watched next-day season one title from a linear channel in its first seven weeks to date on the Disney-owned platform.
“Collaborating with Iron Ocean, our dedicated crew, charismatic cast, and our partners at Freeform and eOne has been the best first showrunning experience I could ask for.
Olivia Holt, Chiara Aurelia, Michael Landes, Froy Gutierrez, Harley Quinn Smith, Allius Barnes, Blake Lee and Brooklyn Sudano star in the series, which wraps its first season Tuesday at 10 p.m.
To the audiences who have been tuning into this show week in and week out, thank you!!! This is all for you!” Biel and Purple said in a joint statement.
You see that with the “who do you believe between Jeanette and Kate and playing on that grass-is-always-greener and shifting points of view and how once you’re really grounded in another person’s shoes, the story tends to change.
We knew, and this netted out to be true, that our audience will find us where ever our content lives.
This is a story that resonates at the level of what’s affecting young people today, and it has bigger societal themes at play in the story.
The face of the network is definitely evolving, as I came in and said, “Our goal is to be focused and targeted on YA audiences and wanting to capture the spirit of Gen Z and millennials,” and Cruel Summer has done that.
We have Single Drunk Female and we just shot the pilot for Everything’s Trash, which we’ll look at soon.